The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including a power device, a driving circuit and a protective circuit, integrated in a package, and having main terminals for treating high currents, and control terminals for treating control signals.
Power devices are applied to power electronic apparatuses, such as general-purpose inverters, uninterruptive power supplies, machine tools, and industrial robots. In the power devices, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) has become dominant. Further, an intelligent power module has been used practically, in which the driving circuit and the protective circuit in addition to the IGBT are integrated in a module, and high performance and function are achieved.
Such a power module comprises a power switching circuit including a combination of multiple IGBT chips, a driving circuit for driving the IGBTs, and a protective circuit for protection from overcurrent, short circuiting and overheating. These circuits are mounted in a casing and are connected to terminals formed outside the casing. An intelligent power module used for driving a three-phase motor, for example, is provided with terminal blocks P and N for DC power input, terminal blocks U, V and W for output, a terminal block B for braking, and a control terminal assembly for control signals on the peripheral of the module. The control terminal assembly comprises a plurality of pins or plate tabs each being connected to the driving circuit or the protective circuit, and an insulative terminal block for holding the pins or the tabs. The terminal block is joined with the casing by secondary molding, adhesion or screwing.
In using the intelligent power module to an application apparatus, main circuits of the apparatus are attached to the terminal blocks of the power module by screwing. Control circuits, on the other hand, are attached to the power module by directly soldering a power board of the apparatus mounting a control integrated circuit to the pins or tabs projecting from the terminal block of the power module, or by inserting the pins or tabs projecting from the terminal block of the power module into a connector connected to or attached to the power board.
Since the terminals for control signals in conventional semiconductor devices project from the device, it is liable to be deformed by external force in a production process or transportation after production. In an automatic mounting by a robot, for example, if accuracy of a dimension, such as pitch of the terminals, is not enough, mis-engagement with the connector of the power board may occur and the connector may break. In addition, when the connector is attached to the control terminals of the semiconductor device, the connector must be inserted while moving in the direction of projection of the control terminals from the semiconductor device.
Moreover, since the control terminals are exposed from the semiconductor device, the control terminals may be unintentionally touched by hand, to sometimes cause electrostatic break down of the elements in the semiconductor device.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device comprising control terminals that avoid mis-engagement in connection with a power board, and that eliminate direct touching with hand.
To attain the above object, the present invention provides a semiconductor device comprising in a casing, a power device, and a driving circuit and a protective circuit for the power device. The semiconductor device further comprises a control terminal assembly including control terminals for control signals leading out from the driving circuit and the protective circuit to outside of the casing. The control terminal assembly has a receptacle-type connector that receives pin- or tab-shape terminals.
Such a semiconductor device, in which the control terminal assembly of the semiconductor device has a receptacle-type connector, prevents the control terminals directly connected to the inner circuit elements from projecting or exposing out of the casing. Therefore, the control terminals of the control terminal assembly are not subjected to any force in transportation and are not likely to deform. In addition, the control terminals are never directly touched by hand, and therefore, the elements in the semiconductor device are not electrostatically broken down in handling the device.